Rising up - not blown away: re-building Puerto Rico from the ground up

26 October 2017

Puerto Rico has made
international headlines after Category 4 Hurricane Maria hit the island on 20th
September. A trail of destruction was left: snapped trees, destroyed houses,
fallen power cables, blocked roads, and chest-deep floodwaters. Now, more than
a month after the disaster, most Puerto Ricans still live without access to
water, light and communication services. In a de facto colonial context where
different governmental entities are trying to avoid taking up their
responsibilities, bottom up movements are on the rise and provide much needed
help, care and relief.

Photo credit: Amber Lee Vélez-Burr – Destroyed houses in the village Barrio Portuguez in the Municipality of Adjuntas.

'A Free Associated State'

Puerto Rico has a unique
political status which is formally described as a ‘Free Associated State’ to
the United States (U.S.). The power imbalances of this relationship however define
Puerto Rico as a de facto colony. Hence, ultimate control over any policy
decision taken by the Puerto Rican government lies within the U.S. government.
This very nature of the policy process has provided fertile grounds for both
governments to engage in prolonged debates aimed at avoiding their responsibilities
to provide goods and services to Puerto Ricans. Over the last weeks, we have
witnessed once more how the characteristics of the policy process have resulted
in a leadership crisis that have hindered an immediate, effective and strong provision
of disaster assistance.

The fight to avoid the responsibility to provide top level disaster assistance

At least formally, Puerto
Rico has been entitled to the same disaster assistance from the U.S. government
as states within the USA. Under the Stafford Act, the main mandate for
providing relief lies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In practice however, the responsibility for providing disaster assistance to
Puerto Ricans appears not clearly defined as indicated by the debates between
the Puerto Rican and the U.S. government during the first month after the
hurricane: The Puerto Rican government promoted a narrative that depicted the
disaster as ‘dreadful’ and ‘catastrophic humanitarian crisis’ that because of
its magnitude could not be handled by the Puerto Rican government. In contrast,
the U.S. government promoted a narrative that depicted Puerto Ricans as ‘lazy’
and ‘dependent’. The narratives of both governments aimed to shift the
responsibility away from themselves and towards the other and this lack of
leadership has left Puerto Rico without an immediate, effective, and
coordinated top-level disaster response.

The rise of bottom level disaster assistance

For Puerto Ricans, this
governmental crisis is all but new. Instead of waiting
for the governments to provide disaster assistance, people rely on their
families, neighbours and community members for immediate help, support and
care. For example, only hours after the winds have calmed down, Puerto Ricans
began to mobilize themselves. People started to free roads from fallen trees,
rubble, and broken windows; those with power generators gave extension cables
to their neighbours, and those with running water connected hoses to reach the
pavements where anyone in need could access them.

Now more than a month after the hurricane, more and more people have formed
volunteer groups to organize and provide much needed goods to Puerto Ricans. These
bottom level efforts are strongly supported by the Puerto Rican diaspora who
facilitate the access to those goods unavailable on the island such as water
filters, solar panels, mosquito nets, and torches among others. At the community
level people’s relief efforts are supported by community leaders and community
organizations who provide guidance in terms of where and what type of help is
needed in their communities

Photo credit: Amber Lee Vélez-Burr. Alexis Massol, founding father of the community organisation Casa Pueblo explaining a volunteer group the route to a village that has not yet received any disaster assistance.

Some community organisations have thus become ‘local headquarter’ for the
distribution of bottom-level relief efforts and play vital roles in
coordinating and delivering relief. A showcase of such a ‘local headquarter’ is
the community organisation Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas in the middle of the island.
‘Casa Pueblo’ is a longstanding and exceptionally well organised community
organisation. With its strong roots in the community the organisation has
become a first entrance and orientation point for any assistance coming to
Adjuntas.

The organisation is also involved in the direct redistribution of relief to
community members. Using their own radio station, Casa Pueblo is able to reach
out to their community members and inform them about distribution times and
goods available. Moreover, volunteer troops are sent out every morning in order
to visit different areas in Adjuntas and bring water or other relief items to
people’s houses. In order to guarantee fairness and accountability, it will be
registered what help has been provided to whom.

Implications of the rise of bottom level disaster assistance

The case of Puerto
Rican’s immediate disaster response shows the importance of community
organisations and bottom-up support in providing immediate, effective and
coordinated relief in a colonial context where top level governmental entities try
to escape from their responsibilities. The fact that Puerto Ricans do not wait
for the Puerto Rican or U.S. government to help them may suggest a severe
distrust in the capacities of their government. It appears that Puerto Ricans
are used to rely on each other for receiving help. Thus, an incredibly strong
solidarity and support network exists among Puerto Ricans stretching from
families, to neighbours, to the entire community, and even to the Puerto Rican
diaspora. This has enabled an immediate disaster response from the bottom.

The existence of these social support networks should however not deny the
responsibility of any government to provide public goods and services to their
people especially in case of an emergency situation. In Puerto Rico top level
relief efforts should thus concentrate on rebuilding fundamental public
infrastructure including electricity, water and communication services. In
order to provide top level relief that involve the distribution of items to individual
households it will be crucial to involve community organizations and community
leaders in order to be effective. They know best where and what type of
assistance is needed in their communities.

Maria Klara Kuss is a PhD student in Public Policy
and Policy Analysis at the United
Nations University MERIT’s Graduate School of Governance in the Netherlands. Before
starting her PhD, she worked as a Research Officer at the IDS. Maria Klara holds an MA in Governance and Development from the IDS (2013) and currently serves as
IDS Alumni Ambassador for Germany.

Miguel A. Rivera-Quiñones is an Assistant Professor in
the Political Science Department at the University of Puerto Rico. Prior to
this, he taught in the MA Governance and Development (2014) at the IDS and in
the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Miguel holds a PhD in
International Relation and has worked as a consultant for several international
organisations.

Further information and reading:

On the political status
of Puerto Rico: Dietz, J. (1976). The Puerto Rican Political Economy. Latin American
Perspectives, 3 (3), 3-16